Terrence McNally

Playwright & Screenwriter

Biography

Terrence McNally's most recent play is Unusual Acts of Devotion, which had its world premiere at Philadelphia Theatre Company followed by a production at the La Jolla Playhouse. In August 2009, the Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seattle presented the world premiere of his musical adaptation of Catch Me If You Can with a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman—scheduled to open on Broadway in the Spring 2011. In 2010 the Kennedy Center produced three of his plays under the title "Terrence McNally's Night at the Opera: Master Class, The Lisbon Traviata, and the world premiere of Golden Age. His musical adaptation of Fredrich Durrenmatt's The Visit, with the score by John Kander and the lyrics by Fred Ebb, was produced at Arlington's Signature Theatre. Recent plays include Deuce with Angela Lansbury and Marian Seldes on Broadway and Some Men at off-Broadway's Second Stage. He has won four Tony Awards for his plays Love! Valour! Companion! (as well as the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play and the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for Best Play) and Master Class and his musical books for Kiss of the Spider Woman (Kander & Ebb) and Ragtime. Recent Broadway credits include the revivals of his plays The Ritz and Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune. His other plays include A Perfect Ganesh, Corpus Christi, Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams, The Stendhal Syndrome, Lips Together, Teeth Apart (Drama Desk Award Best New Play), and It's Only a Play. Earlier stage works include Bad Habits (Obie Award Best Play), Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone?, . . . And Things that Go Bump in the Night, and Next. He also wrote the books for the musicals The Full Monty, The Rink (Kander & Ebb), and A Man of No Importance. The San Francisco Opera presented Dead Man Walking with Mr. McNally's libretto and music by Jake Heggie. Mr. McNally has written a number of TV scripts, including Andre's Mother for which he won an Emmy Award. He has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, a Lucille Lortel Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Dramatists Guild since 1970 and is twice the recipient of the Hull-Warriner Award for Best Play.